Departure of Archduke Matthias (1557-1619) from the Netherlands, on 29 October 1581, showing him and his entourage boarding their ships at Antwerp on their return home to Austria. Matthias served as Governor-General of the country from 1577 to 1581, leaving when independence from Spain was achieved. He became Holy Roman Emperor in 1612. 1581

Sir Walter Raleigh lays his cloak at Queen Elizabeth I's feet to prevent her from getting muddy feet. The fanciful, romantic tale of the cloak and the mud puddle probably originated with historian Thomas Fuller, known for his imaginative elaborations on historical fact. Later, Sir Walter Scott kept the myth alive in his 1821 Elizabethan romance, Kenilworth. "Hark ye, Master Raleigh, see thou fail not to wear thy muddy cloak," the queen exhorts Sir Walter, "in token of penitence, till our pleasure be further known." Sir Walter vows never to clean the cloak, and later the queen, delighted with his gallantry, invites him to visit the royal wardrobe keeper that he may be fitted for "a suit, and that of the newest cut." Date: 1581